Controlling text messages on a mobile device

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems and devices for controlling access to messaging (SMS, MMS, email, etc.) on mobile devices (e.g., cell phones) during times or in locations in which such activity is prohibited or inhibited by the parental control settings. Parental control settings limit messaging features available to mobile devices to certain times and/or locations. Messages received at restricted times/locations are stored in temporary memory without notifying the mobile device user (i.e., messages are not placed in the inbox), unless the message is received from a pre-approved source (e.g., parent, teachers, etc.). Once the context for restricting access to messaging (e.g., time, location, etc.) no longer applies, the stored messages may be transferred from the temporary memory to the inbox and the user may be alerted regarding the new message.

BACKGROUND

Cellular and wireless communication technologies have seen explosivegrowth over the past several years. This growth has been fueled bybetter communications hardware, larger networks and more reliableprotocols. Wireless service providers are now able to offer theircustomers an ever-expanding array of features and services, and provideusers with unprecedented levels of access to information, resources andcommunications. Today's cell phones include cameras, GPS receivers, MP3players, and provide access to web content, data sharing, applicationdownloading, and many other features.

As cell phones and wireless devices continue to grow in popularity, manyparents have begun providing cell phones to their young children. Cellphones provide these children with a degree of safety and protection, asthey are now able to immediately contact the parents in case of anemergency. However, by carrying a personal cell phone/wireless device,children are now more susceptible to certain dangers (e.g., calls andmessages from strangers, access to certain websites) and present moreopportunities to access age-inappropriate content and participate ininappropriate or unproductive activities (e.g., texting in class). Asmore children have access to feature-rich cell phones, parents needbetter controls over their children's phones.

SUMMARY

The various embodiments provide systems, devices, and methodsencompassing an enterprise-based parental control settings server thatallows parents to set and control parental control restrictions on theirchildren's cell phones and other mobile computing devices. Variousembodiments enable controlling cell-phone access to messaging servicesduring times or in locations in which such activity is prohibited orinhibited by parental control settings. Parents set control settingsthat limit messaging features available to their children's phones andother mobile computing devices to certain times and/or locations.Messages received at restricted times/locations are stored in temporarymemory without notifying the cell phone or other mobile computing deviceuser (i.e., messages are not placed in the inbox), unless the message isreceived from a pre-approved source (e.g., parent, teachers, etc.). Oncethe context for restricting access to messaging (e.g., time, location,etc.) no longer applies, the stored messages may be transferred from thetemporary memory to the inbox such that the message is accessible to theuser.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitutepart of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of theinvention, and together with the general description given above and thedetailed description given below, serve to explain the features of theinvention.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a communication system block diagrams illustratingnetwork components of two alternative embodiment architectures suitablefor use in the various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram of a method for setting parentalcontrols in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 3 is component diagram of a parental control settings server modulethat may be implemented in a parental control server in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a component diagram illustrating functional components thatmay be implemented within a receiver device suitable for implementingvarious embodiments.

FIGS. 5A and B are a process flow diagrams of two embodiment methods ofautomatically generating new general community-based configurationsbased on common configurations.

FIGS. 6A-6D are process flow diagrams of embodiment methods for allowingthird party parental controls to overlay master parental controls inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram illustrating an embodiment deferreddelivery method for controlling a cell phone's capabilities.

FIG. 8 is a process flow diagram of an embodiment method for applyingthe parental control settings to third party communication sites.

FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram of an embodiment method forimplementing parental controls so that certain actions are only allowedupon intermediate authorization.

FIG. 10 is a component block diagram of a receiver device suitable foruse in an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a component block diagram of a server device suitable for usein an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various embodiments will be described in detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.References made to particular examples and implementations are forillustrative purposes, and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention or the claims.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other implementations.

The terms “cell phone,” “wireless device” and “mobile device” are usedinterchangeably herein to refer to any one or all of cellulartelephones, smart-phones (e.g., iPhone), web-pads, tablets, Internetenabled cellular telephones, WiFi enabled electronic devices, personaldata assistants (PDA's), laptop computers, personal computers, computerssending and receiving short message service (SMS) messages, multimediamessage service (MMS) messages, and/or electronic mail (email) andsimilar electronic devices. However, the terms “cell phone,” “wirelessdevice” and “mobile device” should not be limited to the enumerated listof devices.

The various embodiments provide methods, devices and systems forenterprise-based parental controls that allow parents to remotelyenable, disable and/or limit the many features and services available ontheir children's mobile devices, such as cell phones. Modern mobiledevices, including cell phones, tablet computers, gaming devices, etc.,offer their users an unprecedented degree of connectivity, access,convenience and safety. As mobile devices like cell phones and tabletcomputing devices continue to grow in popularity, they are quicklybecoming an indispensible tool for navigating modern society,interacting with one another, and quickly and efficiently accomplishingmany everyday tasks. As a result, many of today's activities (such asthose sponsored by schools) are being designed with an expectation thatparticipants have access to the various technologies, features andservices provided by modern cell phones and mobile computing devices.For these and other reasons, it is now more common for parents to allowtheir children to have their own personal cell phones and other mobiledevices starting at a very young age and extending throughoutadolescence.

Parents take comfort in knowing that their children and teenagers(herein children) may contact them at any time and in cases ofemergency. Parents also take comfort in knowing that their children haveaccess to the countless services and resources provided by modern cellphones and mobile computing devices (e.g., tablet computers), and mayuse these resources for productive activities. Children now use cellphones and mobile computing devices to assist them in completing many oftheir daily tasks, which may include checking reading assignments,interacting with their teachers, asking questions, updating theiractivity schedules, participating in pop quizzes, researching classtopics, receiving help with homework and many other daily tasks. Forthese and other reasons, more children have access to cell phones andmobile computing devices than ever before, and many of these childrenhave nearly continuous—and sometimes unfettered—access to the numerousresources and services provided by these mobile devices.

While there are many benefits to allowing children to have access tocell phones and mobile computing devices, it is dangerous to allowchildren to have unlimited access to many of the services (GPS, text,web, applications, etc.) provided by modern mobile devices. Children whohave unrestricted access to such mobile devices are more vulnerable tocontact with strangers, and may use the numerous features available ontheir devices for unproductive or inappropriate activities. Whileparents desire that their children have some access to certain cellphone and mobile computing device features, parents also need to manageand control the features available on their children's mobile devices.These parents may also desire to extend such restrictions to other mediaaccess devices (e.g., televisions, gaming systems, audio and videoplayers, etc.) so their children have consistent access and usagerestrictions across all of their media access platforms.

Existing solutions for controlling children's cell phone and mobilecomputing device usage only allow parents to enable/disable the variousdevice features, and do not provide parents with the ability to controlexactly how, when or where each feature is used. Current solutions arenot effective because children need the ability to use their cell phoneand mobile computing device features for approved activities (e.g.,texting their teachers, accessing online databases, etc.). The variousembodiments enable children to user their cell phone and mobilecomputing device features for parent-approved activities while alsorestricting unapproved and/or unproductive activities (e.g., textingand/or surf the web when they should be paying attention to a lecture ordoing homework). The various embodiments provide a centralized parentalcontrol settings server that enables parents to finely control how eachindividual feature is used on their children's cell phones and othermobile computing devices. The parental control settings server mayrestrict each cell phone feature based on time, location and/or theindividual demographics of each child.

The various embodiments provide systems for implementing a comprehensiveset of parental controls that allow parents to control their children'scell phones and mobile computing devices in a manner that allowschildren to use their mobile devices for approved and/or productiveactivities, and at the same time, restrict them from using their mobiledevices for improper and/or unproductive activities. The variousembodiments provide a server-based parental control settings server thatenables parents to create dynamic and context-specific controls forlimiting their children's mobile devices. Context-sensitive controls maybe configured to automatically limit mobile device functionality basedon time, location, age and/or any definable context. Dynamic controlsplace adaptive restrictions (which may be context-sensitive) on mobiledevices. The embodiments enable parents to create multiple parentalcontrol profiles for a single device or a particular child (e.g.,providing separate profiles for home, school, night time, etc.). Oneexample of a dynamic control is an age-based control or restriction thatprogressively enables additional features as the child ages. In anembodiment, such comprehensive restrictions may be applied to allnetwork-enabled media access devices used by their children so usagerestrictions can be implemented consistently across all devices. Forexample, restrictions on times and hours of use may be extended totelevisions, gaming terminals and media players through the same system.

A single online interface hosted on the parental control settings serverprovides parents with a centralized system for managing each individualchild's access permissions. This single interface allows parents tocontrol all their children's mobile phones and mobile computing devicesquickly and efficiently, without requiring any physical access to thechildren's devices. Access permissions may be granted, denied and/orlimited using a single setting for multiple children based on eachchild's demographics (e.g., age, sex, etc.), as well as time andlocation. For example, a parent may use this single interface to set asingle context-based setting that allows her thirteen year old son'smobile phone or mobile computing device to access a certain websiteand/or application (e.g., twitter) during lunch hours, and at the sametime, prevents her eight year old daughter's mobile phone or mobilecomputing device from accessing that same website and/or applicationwhile on school property. To achieve this flexibility, parents maydefine general boundaries for their children (either collectively oreach child individually) and allow other approved sources of authority(e.g., teachers, police, the community, volunteer organizations, etc.)to have some control over what/when/how the various cell phone andmobile computing device features are to be used. A parent may set theserestrictions through a website interface hosted by the parental controlsettings server without having to know any of the details of therestricted website and/or application, its age-appropriateness, theschool policies regarding its use, or even of the website's existence.The parental control settings server may format an appropriateconfiguration message that is transmitted (e.g., pushed) to the child'scell phone and/or mobile computing device to cause the cell phone toimplement the desired feature restrictions and/or permissions. Thus, theparent also does not need to understand how to program the child's cellphone and mobile computing devices. In a further embodiment, theparental control settings may also be sent to other types of mediaaccess devices that have access to a communication network, such as theInternet, a cellular network, a satellite television network, or a cabletelevision network, so those other devices can implement therestrictions in a manner consistent with their children's mobiledevices.

As discussed above, various embodiments allow parents to authorize othersources of authority (e.g., teachers, police, community and volunteerorganizations, etc.) to have some control over what/when/how the variouscell phone features are used. Allowing other trusted sources ofauthority to have a say in parental control configurations can bebeneficial. Many parents find it difficult to anticipate every way theirchildren may use the various services/features available on modern cellphones and mobile computing devices, and require some assistance indistinguishing the appropriate uses from the inappropriate ones. Forexample, a teacher may request that her students use a cell phone or andmobile computing device during class to text answers to a pop quiz,participate in online polls, or access online resources. That sameteacher may discipline students who access unauthorized websites and/ortext other students in class. Thus, parents may need to be able to allowtheir children to use their mobile devices to participate in someencouraged or required activities (e.g., texting answers to a pop quiz),while at the same time restricting them from using the mobile devicesfor unauthorized or inappropriate activities (e.g., surfing theInternet) without having to actively monitor or manage allappropriate/inappropriate activities available to the child.

As mentioned above, current solutions for controlling cell phone andmobile computing device usage only allow parents to enable/disable thevarious features. In the above example, parents using current solutionshave to disable internet/texting capabilities on their child's phone andmobile computing devices to prevent that child from misusing thesefeatures during school. Teachers could contact parents and requestcertain features be enabled on days they are required for a schoolactivity. In such cases, the parents must remember to enable thosefeatures for that day. To further complicate matters, once the featuresare enabled, parents cannot control exactly how those features are usedin other classes, at other times and/or in other locations.

The various embodiments overcome these and other problems with currentmobile devices by allowing parents to set general guidelines for theirchildren's mobile device usage and allow other approved sources ofauthority (e.g., principals, teachers, community, etc.) to automaticallycontrol the available features in certain specified conditions (e.g.,during school hours and/or on school grounds).

The various embodiments also allow busy parents to defer to or electrules and/or standards of one or more communities (e.g., school, church,city, organizations, etc.), which are referred to herein ascommunity-based settings, when setting the parental controls for theirchildren's cell phones and mobile computing devices. In an embodiment,the parental control settings server may periodically examine theparental control settings of all or a select group of users to generatecommunity-based configuration settings that reflect the most popularparental control configurations. The server may generate community-basedconfiguration settings based on select communities, such asneighborhoods, cities, counties, states, age-groups, organizations,schools, locations and other groups or social units. Parents may electone or more of these community-based parental control settings, ordefine/modify each setting individually. For example, a parent mayselect a parental control mobile device configuration that isautomatically updated to include the most common settings used byparents who live in Oklahoma City and whose children are in the boyscouts. In this manner, busy parents may rely on the collective judgmentof others in their selected communities (e.g., boy scouts, OklahomaCity) and trust that their children are restricted from, and have accessto, the same features as other children in the selected communities. Theparent may modify the community based settings individually, such as tospecifically permit or restrict access to a particular website, whileleaving the remaining settings the same as the selected community.

The various embodiments also allow each parent to fine tune the settingsbased on their individual preferences, their circumstances and thematurity of their kids. For example, a parent may wish to discipline achild by disabling the child's mobile device Internet capabilitiesduring school hours even though that child's teacher allows the use ofInternet in class. In this example, the parent may access the parentalcontrol server to fine tune the parental control settings such that theteacher's settings cannot override the disabling of mobile device'sInternet capabilities. Thus, the various embodiments allow parents,teachers and others with the proper permissions to collaborate incontrolling the features available on children's mobile devices, witheach parent having master control over the features available to eachindividual child.

Various embodiments may notify the parent (e.g., text, email, etc.) oneach occurrence of a parent-definable condition related to the child'sactivities on the mobile device. For example, the parent may set theparental control settings such that the child's mobile deviceautomatically sends the parent a text message whenever the childattempts to create a new contact, download a new application, make anonline purchase, or access a new website. The parental controls mayprevent the child from completing such activities until the parentresponds to the notification to approve the activity.

As an example of mobile device features that may be controlled, thevarious embodiments provide systems, devices, and methods forcontrolling access to messaging (SMS, MMS, email, etc.) on mobiledevices (e.g., cell phones) during times or in locations in which suchactivity is prohibited or inhibited by the parental control settings. Asdiscussed above, parents take comfort in knowing that their children cancontact them (or teachers, classmates, police, etc.) at any time and incases of emergency. For this and other reasons, many children areallowed nearly continuous access to the messaging functions provided bytheir cell phones and/or mobile computing devices. While allowingchildren to have continuous access to a cell phone or other mobilecomputing device has benefits (e.g., the child can text the parent if astranger breaks in so as to inform the parent and not alert theintruder), it is also has many downsides. For example, the child mayreceive late night messages from strangers and/or otherwise misuse thedevice (e.g., texting friends after bedtime). The various embodimentsallow some messaging functionality to remain active on the children'scell phones and mobile computing devices while disabling other aspectsof the messaging functionality in a manner that allows messages to bereceived once the restrictions no longer apply. Restricted messages arestill received by the cell phone and/or mobile computing device, but arestored in memory and not placed in the inbox when the context (e.g.,time of day, day of week, location, etc.) and message sender (e.g., notthe parent) are restricted by parental control settings. Once thecontext for restricting access to messaging no longer applies, thestored messages may be transferred to the messaging inbox and the childmay be alerted to the message's receipt.

As discussed above, the embodiments may be implemented with a variety ofmobile computing devices. Two types of mobile computing devices forwhich the embodiments are particularly applicable are cellulartelephones (which are also referred to herein as “mobile phones”) andtablet computers (e.g., the Apple iPad® and similar products made byother manufactures). Being portable and configured with significantcomputing capabilities, near-continuous cellular and WiFi networkaccess, numerous applications and intuitive user interfaces, such mobiledevices are ideal for providing children access to educational andentertainment resources while enabling them to communicate with theirparents at any time. In terms of functionality and operation, thedifferences between mobile phones and other types of mobile computingdevices are diminishing and are expected to become less significant overtime. Therefore, in order to simplify the descriptions of the variousembodiments, the drawings and the following embodiment descriptionsrefer only to mobile phones (or cell phones or just phones) instead ofreferring to all types of applicable devices. Thus, the followingreferences to mobile or cell phones and to cellular telephone networksare not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

The various embodiments may be implemented within a variety ofcommunication systems, such as a cell telephone network, an example ofwhich is illustrated in FIG. 1. A typical cell telephone network 11includes a plurality of cell base stations 12 coupled to a networkoperations center 14, which operates to connect voice calls and databetween mobile devices 10 (e.g., cell phones) and other networkdestinations, such as via telephone land lines (e.g., a POTS network,not shown) and the Internet 7. The mobile devices 10 may each include adeeply embedded parental control settings (ACS) implementing module thatallows parental control settings to be enforced on the mobile device andthat is resistant to unauthorized modification/tampering. The mobiledevices 10 may also support public web and content ratings mechanisms(MPAA, etc.) and may be configured to filter advertisements by categoryand ratings. Communications between the mobile devices 10 and thenetwork 11 may be accomplished via two-way wireless communication links13, such as 4G, 3G, CDMA, TDMA, LTE and/or other cell telephonecommunication technologies. The network 11 may also include one or moreservers 16 coupled to or within the network operations center 14 thatprovide a connection to the Internet 7.

FIG. 1A also illustrates that the communication system may include oneor more parental control settings servers 18 connected to the telephonenetwork 11 and to the Internet 7. The connection between the parentalcontrol settings server 18 and the telephone network 11 may be throughthe Internet 7 or through a private network (as illustrated by thedashed arrows), or the parental control settings server 18 maybeimplemented as a server within the network infrastructure of thetelephone network 11. The parental control settings servers 18 mayinclude a parental control enterprise system module and a web-interfaceaccessible to computing devices 9 (e.g., smartphones, laptops, PCs,etc.) via the Internet 7, such as a user interface webpage. The parentalcontrol web-interface allows parents to set, update and/or maintainparental control settings on the control servers 18. The parentalcontrol settings servers 18 communicate updated parental controlsettings to the mobile devices 10 via the telephone network 11. Themobile devices 10 use these settings to update, create and/or maintainparental control settings profiles that identify the conditions underwhich each mobile device 10 feature should be enabled, disabled,restricted and/or otherwise controlled.

FIG. 1B illustrates and alternative embodiment architecture in which theparental control settings servers 18 are managed by individual or groupsof parents instead of a central server. In this embodiment, eachparental control settings server 18 may be under the management andcontrol of a parent or a group of parents who may determine whether theserver communicates with other parental control settings servers 18,such as via the Internet. Such a local parental control settings server18 may be implemented in a computer within the household, such as aserver application hosted on the parent's home computer coupled to thenetwork. Alternatively, the local parental control settings server 18may be implemented in “the cloud,” i.e., in one or more servers on theInternet that are under the software control of a parent or group ofparents. In this embodiment, the parental control settings functionswould not be provided by a central service, but by a server application.Parents may then decide whether to “share” the settings andfunctionality of their respective local parental control settingsservers 18 with other to provide the overview perspective and analysisafforded by the centralized local parental control settings server 18 ofthe embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example method 200 for setting parental controlsin accordance with the various embodiments. In step 202, a parent maylog onto a parental control website hosted by the parental controlsettings server enterprise server 18 to access her family account suchas by entering account information (e.g., phone number, user ID,password, etc.). As part of step 202, the parental control settingsserver enterprise server may retrieve information regarding the parent'saccount. In determination step 204, the server may determine if this isthe first time that the parent has logged on to the parental controlwebsite. If this is a first time log-in (i.e., determination step204=“Yes”), in step 206, the parental control website may prompt theparent to input optional demographic information about the parent (e.g.,number of children, memberships in various organizations, etc.) and/orfor each child (e.g., age, sex, schools, activities, classes, etc.).

In step 208, the server may prompt the parent to determine whether shewants to input parental control parameters individually or select apre-compiled set of parameters (e.g., a community-based setting) for herchildren/family. In determination step 210, the server may determine ifthe parent chose to input the settings individually. If the parent chosenot to input the settings individually (i.e., determination step210=“No”), in step 212, the server may prompt the parent to select,either for all her children collectively or for each child individually,one or more community-based settings (e.g., pre-compiled set ofparameters). For example, the parent may select a community-basedsetting that grants all her children age-appropriate permissions or mayselect an age-based setting for her daughter and a time-based settingfor her son. The parent may choose the settings from a list and mayselect from among multiple community-based settings for each child. Instep 214, the server may prompt the parent to fine tune the settings toenable, disable or limit each feature for each child based on theparent's individual preferences, circumstances and/or each child'smaturity level. The parent may apply the parental control settings toher children collectively (e.g., none of the children may accessFacebook®) or each child individually (e.g., son cannot access Facebook®during the day but daughter can). Once the parent is has made herselections, she may submit her inputs/selections (e.g., by pressing asubmit button or hitting enter) to the parental control settings server.In step 218, the parental control settings server pushes therestrictions to each child's phone over the telephone network.

Returning to determination step 210, if the server determines thatparent wants to input the settings individually (i.e., determinationstep 210=“Yes”), in step 216 the parental control parameters input bythe parent may be received by the parental control settings server.These inputs may be received as signals generated in response to theparent clicking on hyperlinked selections (e.g., buttons, check boxes,or setting descriptions), so that the parent can configure parentalcontrols through a series of selections in a menu interface. In step218, the parental control settings server generates a message suitablefor communicating the settings to the corresponding cell phone, andpushes the restrictions message to the child's phone via the cellulartelephone network.

FIG. 3 illustrates a parental control module 300 of a parental controlsettings server in accordance with the various embodiments. As mentionedabove, users may access the parental control settings server via theparental control web-interface from any computer having internet access.The parental control settings server maintains various parameters thatmay be used to set parental control profiles that identify sets offeatures and capabilities that are to be enabled, disabled and/orlimited on each child's cell phone. The parental control settings servermay also manage master accounts (e.g., a family account, parent'saccount, etc.) through which users can establish and manage the parentalcontrol parameters/profiles. Users log onto the parental controlsettings server to create, modify, select, enable and/or overrideparental control parameters/profiles maintained by the server. Parentalcontrol parameters/profiles may be managed on the parental controlsettings server such that a child-user cannot circumvent theparameters/profiles without having access to the master account. Theparental control parameters may be maintained in a central location(e.g., the parental control settings server) so that the parentalcontrol settings may be applied to each child, even as their cell phonesare replaced and/or updated, by periodically pushing the parentalcontrols to the controlled phone. The parental control parameters may becontext-sensitive. Context-sensitive parental control parameters may beused to monitor a user-definable context condition and enable, disableor limit cellular phone features based on the presence or absence of thecontext condition. The context condition may be monitored by thecontrolled phone. In some embodiments, the parental control settingsserver may also participate in monitoring context conditions.

FIG. 3 also illustrates that the control system module 300 may includeone or more centralized databases containing user, demographic and/orrestriction information for establishing parental controls on thechildren's phones, as well as on third party applications and websites.Specifically, the control system module 300 may include a user database302 and a demographic database 304. The user database 302 may containinformation regarding each registered user (e.g., username, family, age,sex, address, etc.). The demographic database 304 may containdemographic information (e.g., age, sex, location) for all members in amanner that enables generation of community based parental controlsettings without revealing any user's personal information. Thesedatabases may be interconnected and each database may cross referenceinformation contained in the other databases.

Each database may also contain a data link to various control parameters320, which may include parental controls 304, audit controls 306,advertisement controls 308, authorization controls 310, andconfigurations controls 312. The control parameters 320 may beautomatically updated, either periodically or based on one or moretriggering events (e.g., change in data, etc.). The control systemmodule 200 may also include embedded software/interfaces for interactingwith application-management systems (e.g., an App Store 330) andeducation based systems or other third party modules or websites 334. Insome embodiments, the control system module 300 may further include oneor more tracking systems 332 for monitoring the physical location ofeach phone, the phone's movement history and/or the phone's usagehistory. The control system module 300 may include an interface forinteracting with third party/external tracking systems (e.g., tracking),which may or may not have a component pre-installed on the child'sphone.

In an embodiment, the control system module 300 may interact with thirdparty applications and/or websites to inform third party applicationsand websites of the parental controls. In an embodiment, the parentalcontrol profiles may be configured to permit the phone to interactdirectly with the third party applications/websites and allow thirdparty applications/websites to enforce their own set of parental controlsettings that are commensurate with the parental control profilesassociated with the child' phone. In an embodiment, the third partywebsites/applications may access the parental control settings serverdatabases (e.g., demographic database 304) directly. In this embodiment,the third party websites/applications may connect to the parentalcontrol settings server and check the system's databases fornon-personal identification information (e.g., username, phone number, agenerated control number, etc.) associated with the user and enforce anyrelevant restrictions if the user is identified as being subject to theparental control settings server's parental controls.

In one embodiment, the control system module 300 may require allinteractions between the child's phone 10 and the third partyapplications/websites to be funneled through the parental controlserver, which can filter content transmitted to the child's cell phonebased on the parental control settings/profiles.

In another embodiment, third party websites/applications may maintain aseparate enterprise database that is populated with data from theparental control settings server. For example, whenever a child usestheir cell phone to access a third-party website, the control systemmodule 300 may send one or more parental control setting parametersassociated with the child's phone to the third-party website's parentalcontrol server, which may store the parental control settings in anenterprise database (herein “third party database”) along with thenon-personal identification information (e.g., username, phone number, agenerated control number, etc.) for the child user/child phone. Thiscommunication of parental control settings from the parental controlsettings server may be accomplished in response to a request for suchinformation from the third-party website, or in response to the child'scell phone informing the parental control settings server of the attemptto access the third-party website. The third-party website may accessthe third party database each time the child user accesses that websiteand cross-check the identification information (user name, login,control number, etc.) to the parental control settings in thethird-party database. In this manner, parental controls established onthe control system module 300 may also follow each child, even when thechild borrows a phone from another child or accesses the Internet from anew computer, subject to ordinary user identification and authorizationmethods. The various embodiments may employ the use of control numbersas identification information, allowing the parental control settingsserver to provide third-party websites with applicable parental controlsetting without disclosing personal information (e.g., child's name)that the parent may not wish to share.

The parental control settings server 300 may include a world wide web(Web) module 314 for sending and receiving information over the Internetand an over-the-air application programming interface (OTA API) 316module for transmitting information over the air via a wireless cellularnetwork. In an embodiment, the Web 314 and OTA API 316 modules may beused to control access to third party websites/applications. Asmentioned above, the control system module 200 may require allinteractions between the child's phone 10 and the third partyapplications/websites to be funneled through the parental controlserver, which may filter content based on the parental controlsettings/profiles.

FIG. 4 illustrates functional components that may be implemented withina receiver device (e.g., a child's phone) in the various embodiments.Software modules of a receiver device may be organized in a softwarearchitecture 400 similar to that illustrated in FIG. 4. The softwarearchitecture 400 may include a parental control profile implementingmodule 404 embedded inside the operating system 402. The parentalcontrol profile implementing module 404 may also be implemented in asoftware layer between the application layer and the operating systemlayer. The parental control profile implementing module 404 may also beimplemented within or encompass a portion of the user interface 406. Theparental control profile implementing module 404 may be configured toenable, disable, or restrict each of the various features available onthe phone based on the parental control profile settings received fromthe parental control settings server. Some examples of the mobile phonefunctions and features which may be restricted on receiver deviceinclude: use of hardware components (e.g., camera, GPS receiver, WiFitransceiver, etc.), normal telephone (i.e., voice calls), simple messingservice (SMS) messaging and multimedia messaging service (MMS)messaging. The parental control profile implementing module 404 may alsomanage/update the parental control profiles by receiving updatedparental control parameters from the parental control server and usingthe updated parameter to update parental control profiles on thereceiver device. A parental control interface 410 may prevent a requestfor access to content (e.g., on the web, music, advertisements, apps,MP3 player, etc.) from being accepted and/or processed by the operatingsystem 402. In this manner, blocked functions or content may not bepresented to the user through the user interface 406 or used by one ormore applications 408 on the device based on the parental controlprofiles.

FIG. 5A illustrates a method 500 for analyzing the information indatabases to automatically create community-based configurationsselectable by other users of the parental control settings server.Community-based configurations may be generated based on any definableparameter accessible to the system, such as child's age and sex,location, community affiliations, school, etc. The parental controlsettings server may maintain a database of parental control profiles foreach child registered with the system and may be informed of the child'sdemographics and residence. The parental control settings server may usethe parental control settings of multiple users to develop an averagedor community-based standard or set of parental controls and make suchconfiguration available to other parents/users. In an embodiment, theparental control settings server may establish community based set ofcontrols by analyzing the parental control parameter sets across anaggregated pool of accounts in a particular community. For example, aparent configuring a parental control profile for a ten year-old childcould merely select an age/gender based profile and allow the system toapply the restrictions and context criteria of the selectedcommunity-based settings for the child's age and gender. The parent mayalso further customize individual parameters according to theirpreferences without having to specify every parameter in the controlsettings. For example, if the community-based parameter for textmessages inhibits messaging between 9:00 PM and 7:00 AM, a parent maycustomize this restriction expand or reduce these restrictions.

Returning to FIG. 5A, in step 502 of method 500, the parental controlsettings server may populate the user and demographic databases byreceiving user settings and demographic information (e.g., child's age,sex, school, etc.). In step 504, the server may receive the selectedparental control parameters and store the information in a database. Inan embodiment, as part of step 504, the parental control settings servermay prompt the user to select one or more general community-basedconfigurations and to fine tune the selected community-basedconfigurations by modifying the parental control parameters and receive,in the parental control server, a set of parental control parametersassociated with the user's selections and modifications. Indetermination step 506, the parental control settings server may promptthe user to indicate whether the user authorizes the use of that user'snon-personal information (e.g., user information, demographicinformation, parental control settings, etc.) to generatecommunity-based configurations selectable by other users. If theparental control settings server receives authorization to use thenon-personal information (i.e., determination step 506=“Yes”), in step508 the parental control settings server may strip out allpersonal/identifying information, add the user's anonymous informationto a community database and identify other users having similar user anddemographic information. In step 510, the parental control settingsserver may analyze all parental control settings of members authorizingsuch user of their information to identify the most popular settings byage, sex, and other parameters. This analysis may employ any of avariety of known statistical analysis techniques, including for example,averaging, determining a standard deviation of the distribution ofsettings in the sample, and determining settings selected by a majorityor super majority in the sample. In step 512, the parental controlserver may generate one or more community-based parental control settingconfigurations based on the most common settings, such as by age, sex,etc. In step 514, the parental control settings server may insert thegenerated community-based configurations in a master list of commonconfiguration settings to be included with the other community-basedparental control configurations (i.e., eight-year-old girl in OklahomaCity).

In another embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5B, the parental controlserver may simply scan the accounts that parents have authorized forsharing to generate the community based standards. For example, themethod may include the same or similar operations as described abovewith respect to FIG. 5A for like numbered steps with the exception thatin step 520 the parental control server may store an indication (e.g., aflag) with each user record entry regarding whether the user hasauthorized information sharing. When the parental control serveranalyzes account data to develop community based standard, in step 522it may scan those accounts indicated for sharing and analyze thesettings, user and child demographics and user information to generatecommunity based configurations in step 512.

In an embodiment, the parental control server may periodicallyre-analyze the parental control settings in a community, or analyze themost common modifications to the community-based configurations andupdate the community-based settings accordingly. In this manner, theparental control server may generate “evolving settings” that changeover time, enabling the parental control settings server to continuouslyfine tune the community-based system configurations to more accuratelymeet the preferences of users. In an embodiment, the parental controlserver may present parents with the option to either always retain theparameters of the originally selected configuration (i.e., exactly asthey were when the parent set up the account) by opting out of the“evolving setting” configurations, or choose to have the parentalcontrol settings on their children's cell phone updated automatically asthe elected community-based settings are updated (e.g., opt in to theevolving settings).

In an embodiment, the parental control settings server may createvarious user-categories based on information provided by users (e.g.,income, occupation, organizational memberships of parents/children, cityof residence) and create various demographic groups (e.g., singleparents living in Oklahoma City with incomes above $80,000/year) ofusers having similar information. The parental control settings servermay analyze each user's information in view of their associateddemographic groups and child demographics to generate newcommunity-based configurations and/or templates based on the most commonsettings selected by members of those demographic groups. For example,the parental control settings server may create a new generalcommunity-based configuration based on the selections of parents wholive in a particular city (e.g., Oklahoma City) and/or are associatedwith a particular organization (e.g., have at least one child in the BoyScouts). In this manner, other parents may select a community-basedgeneral setting that affords their children the same privileges andrestrictions as other children of parents with similar backgrounds,interests, and/or activities.

In various embodiments, communities may establish sponsored profilesthat may be authorized or endorsed by a variety of organizations, suchas religious bodies, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America, a localschool district, a political party, etc. In this manner, parents mayselect a parental control profile they believe will be in sync withtheir values and beliefs, or with the child's specific interests. Asmentioned above, community-based settings may be recalculatedperiodically in order to keep pace with changing standards of theselected community. Community based settings may also automaticallyadjust as the child ages, with the parental control profile remainingconsistent with restrictions imposed by the selected community forchildren of various ages. For example, if a parent configures aten-year-old child's mobile phone by applying the parameters forten-year-olds in a community, after one year the device mayautomatically update the child's parental control profile by applyingthe community-based parameters for eleven-year-olds in that community(which presumably contain slightly less restriction).

As mentioned above, the parental control settings server may host awebsite providing a user interface for creating, updating and/orotherwise configuring more than one parental control profile. Eachparental control profile may identify a set of parental controlparameters/restrictions that are to be applied to the child's phone. Theparental control settings server may enable parents to create multipleparental control profiles for each child. For example, a parent mayestablish a “Normal Profile” identifying what the child can do undernormal circumstances, and a “Restricted Profile” identifying what thechild can do when he/she is on restriction (e.g., “grounded”). Parentalcontrol profiles may be dynamic and/or context-sensitive. For example,the parental control profiles may include dynamic restrictions that varyfor each individual feature (e.g., by time of day, day of week, date,location, etc.) and context-sensitive restrictions that are onlyactivated in a defined context such as to limit certain individuals fromcalling/messaging after 9 PM, or turn off the camera in school, etc. Inan embodiment, the restrictions may be configured to limit allcalling/messaging except for contacting certain individuals/entities,such as the parent, 911, and authorized contacts (e.g., those peopleknown to, and authorized by, the parents).

The user interface may also include an option for authorizing thirdparty parameters and/or restrictions to be layered on top of theparent's selected settings. For example, the parental control settingsserver may prompt a parent-user to identify one or more trustedauthorities (e.g., teachers, principals, etc.) that are authorized totemporarily modify the parent-user's selected parental control settings.The parental control settings server may maintain an account for eachtrusted authority, allowing the trusted authority to create parentalcontrol parameters and/or restrictions that are pushed to the child'sphone to override parental control parameters defined by a parent-userunder certain specified conditions (e.g., time and day of week, phonelocation, etc.). For example, a parent may restrict the controlledphone's capabilities such that when the child is in school (or in aparticular class in that school), only the features indicated asallowable by both the parent and a teacher for that location (e.g.,accessing the Internet in history class) or for that time (i.e., textmessaging from 11:00 AM to 11:50 AM) are enabled. In this manner, achild's cell phone may be configured to automatically enable certainfeatures (e.g., sending/receiving texts), without requiring the parentto know any of the details of the school's cell phone usage policies.The parental control settings server enables the parent to simply selecta trusted authority (e.g., school) to overlay the authority's parameterson top of the parents' parameters such that the child's cell phone isrestricted to uses that are in accordance with the rules and policies ofboth the parent and the authority.

FIG. 6A illustrates an embodiment method 600 a that may be implementedin the parental control server for allowing third party parentalcontrols to overlay master parental controls. In step 602, a parent-userlogs on to the parental control settings server and sets the parentalcontrols (e.g., selects a configuration and fine tunes theconfiguration). In step 604, a third party may log onto their ownaccount (maintained by the parental control settings server) and setparental control settings enabling, disabling, and/or restrictingvarious cell phone features/uses under defined conditions (e.g., time,day of week, location, etc). In step 606, the parent may log on to theparental control settings server and authorize one or more third partiesto apply the third party parental control profiles or third partyparental control parameters to a child's mobile phone. In step 606, theparent may also specify the authorized contexts, (e.g., based on time,location, etc.) in which the third party controls may override and/oroverlay each of the cell phone features. In step 608, the parentalcontrol settings server may receive a list of the features, restrictionand/or parental control settings that the parent does not want modifiedby the third party controls. In step 610, the parental control settingsserver may generate or update parental control settings. In step 612,the parental control settings server transmits the generated/updatedparental control settings to the child's cell phone.

The child's cell phone may check to determine if the context identifiedby the parent applies (e.g., phone is in identified location, time ofday, day of week, etc.) to the child. If the specified contextauthorized by the parent does not apply, the phone is not restricted bythe third party control settings and only the parent's parental controlsare applied to the phone. However, if the specified context authorizedby the parent does apply, the third party's parental control profile mayoverride and/or overlay the parental control profile configured by thechild's parent. For example, a teacher who wishes all her students beable to submit questions via text message during the class may configurea parental control profile blocking all outgoing text messages exceptfor those sent to the teacher's own device (as well as the parent if soset by the parent). The teacher may establish a third party parentalcontrol profile that specifies the context in which the teacher'ssettings are to be applied, such as the time or location of the classand/or other demographic information (e.g., the school, grades, etc.) Aparent who has enabled/disabled text messaging features on her child'sphone may authorize an override of the parent's control profile on achild's device by any authorized individual (e.g., the child's teacher)or organization (e.g., school, church, etc.) and tie this authorizationto a variety of context settings, such as time of day (i.e., duringschool hours) or location (GPS coordinates of the school or classroom).In this manner, when the phone is within a context authorized by boththe parent and the authorized individual (e.g., the child is in school)both the third party parameters and the parent's parameters may beapplied to the phone (e.g., outgoing text messages to the teacher areenabled and all other outgoing text messaging is disabled).

With the parental control settings and override settings pushed down tothe child's phone, implementation of those settings may be accomplishedby the phone's processor. An embodiment method 620 a for implementingsuch settings in the phone's setting is illustrated in FIG. 6B. Inmethod 620 a in step 622, the child's phone may receive the parentalcontrol settings and the third-party overlay and/or override settingsfrom the parental control server. In step 624, the processor may storethe received settings in the phone memory. In step 626, the processormay implement the received parental control settings by changing thephone settings accordingly. In step 628, as part of normal operations,the processor may monitor the current time and/or geographic location todetermine whether those parameters match the context specified for theoverride configuration. In determination step 630, the processor maydetermine whether the override context be satisfied. If not (i.e.,determination step 630=“No”), the processor may continue to monitor thetime and location while continuing to implement the parental controlsettings. Once the time and/or location matches a context specified forthe override configuration (i.e., determination step 630=“Yes”), theprocessor may enable override by the designated authority in step 632.This may involve changing phone settings and listening for newconfiguration settings received from an authorized authority, such asmay be identified in the third-party overlay settings received in step622 and stored in memory in step 624. When override control settings arereceived they may be implemented in step 634. In determination step 636,the processor may then monitor the current time and/or location todetermine whether the context for the override configuration remainssatisfied. So long as the override context remains satisfied (i.e.,determination step 636=“Yes”), the processor may continue to implementoverride settings received from an authorized authority. Once theoverride context is no longer satisfied (i.e., determination step636=“No”), the phone processor may return to step 626 to implement theparental control settings on the phone.

FIG. 6C illustrates another embodiment method 620 b for implementingoverride controls within authorize context. This embodiment method issimilar to that described above with reference to FIG. 6B with theexception that the override controls are downloaded directly from theparental control server in step 622. In this embodiment, an authorizedauthority requesting parents permission to change their parental controlsettings in certain defined circumstances specify to the parents or theparental control server the override settings they would like toimplement. These override settings are then pushed to the child's phonealong with the parents parental control settings. In step 624, theparental control settings and the override settings are stored inmemory. When the phone processor determines that the current time and/orwill location of the phone satisfies the context for the overridesettings, in step 633 the phone processor implements the overridesettings that were stored in memory in step 624. The processor thencontinues to monitor the current time and/or location to detect when theoverride context is no longer satisfied in determination step 636. Oncethe override context is no longer satisfied (i.e., determination step636=“no”), the phone processor returns to said 626 to implement theparental control settings as described above. This embodiment requiresstoring both the parental control settings and the override settings inthe phone memory. However, current and future cellular phones have morethan enough memory to store both sets of settings. This embodimentreduces the amount of data that must be transmitted over the air andalso defeats any effort to avoid receiving changes in control settingssuch as by entering a place of poor cellular reception or turning offthe device when a control setting transmission is anticipated.

FIG. 6D illustrates another embodiment method 600 b which enables thirdparty parental controls to overlay master parental controls bytransmitting new parental control settings to the phone. Steps 602-608are the same as that of method 600 a discussed above with reference toFIG. 6A. However, in step 650 of method 600 b, the parental controlsettings server may monitor the time to determine if the current time isdefined as an identified context in which the third party controls areto be applied to the child's phone. In determination step 652, theparental control settings server may determine if the current time iswithin identified context. If the current time is within the identifiedcontext (i.e., determination step 652=“Yes”), the parental settingscontrol server may, in step 654, generate an updated profile settingthat includes the parental control parameters defined by both the parentand the third party. In step 656, the server may push the generatedprofile setting parameters to the child's phone. In determination step658, the parental control settings server may check to determine if thecurrent time is still within the identified context. If not (i.e.,determination step 658=“No”), the parental control settings server maypush the normal parental settings to the phone in step 660 so that thethird party parameters will no longer control the child's phone.

The various embodiments enabling override controls by authorizedindividuals may also be implemented to enable children's phones to beused as extensions of a teacher's electronic equipment. For example, thesame mechanism used to transmit override settings could also be used totransmit media control commands, such as to display different menus orcontent on the device displays. In this manner, the embodiments mayenable the electronic classroom in which each child's phone becomes anextension of the teacher's computer or display equipment. For example,when leaving a classroom through a lesson, a teacher may use a personalcomputer to send messages via the cellular network that causes the textor graphics content displayed on each phone to shift to the next page.In this manner, student loans may be used to guide children through alesson without relying on the children to follow instructions forturning a page, selecting a different media file or otherwise followinginstructions on their phone interfaces.

Restrictions on use in school based on time periods and geographicboundaries is just one example of a context-sensitive controls thatautomatically limit cell phone functionality based on any definablecontext (e.g., time, location, academic performance, etc.). The parentalcontrol server may generate many different types of context conditionprofiles (e.g., child is in school, child has maintained a B average,etc.) based on the context-sensitive control settings specified by theparent. The parental control server may interact with one or moreexternal databases containing information relevant to a controlledphone/user and automatically determine if the context condition has beenmet. For example, in an embodiment, the parental control server mayconnect to a school's grade notification system to obtain the child'scurrent grades, and then automatically select a parental control profilebased on the child's grades. In this example, the parental controlserver may push out a first profile with less restrictive parameterswhen the child's grade point average exceeds one threshold and a secondprofile with more restrictive settings when the child's grade pointaverage falls below a certain threshold. Similarly, the parental controlserver may maintain punishment or restrictive parental control settingsprofiles (e.g., a “grounded” profile) which might block all outgoing andincoming phone calls or text messages, except for calls/messages from/toparents or “911,” for example. The parental control settings server maybe configured to automatically push out to the cell phone a punishmentprofile (e.g., “grounded” profile) based on context conditions (e.g.,child has below a B average, etc.). The punishment profile may beconfigured by the parent to expire after a fixed period of time (i.e.,the time the child is grounded), after which the server pushes out anormal parental control profile to the controlled cell phone. In anembodiment, the expiration date for each profile restriction may be setindividually by the parent through the parental control websiteinterface and the parental control settings server may automaticallypush out to the cell phone less restrictive parameters as time passes.In this manner, parents can set the restrictions settings such that thechild's continued good behavior is rewarded by slowly enabling more cellphone features and/or tying the enablement of features to the child'sperformance (e.g., maintained a certain grade point average).

As an example of feature restrictions that may be implemented in anembodiment, the parental controls may be used to control a cell phone'smessaging (SMS, MMS, email, etc.) capabilities during times and/or inlocations where such activity is prohibited or discouraged. For example,parents, teachers, or any authority with the proper privileges mayrestrict a child from text messaging while in class, after a designatedbed time, or in movie theaters (as may be determined by comparing GPScoordinates to locations of theaters). As discussed above, suchrestrictions on messaging may be combined so that during restrictedtimes text messages are received by the phone but not made accessible tothe child. For example, a parent may disable her child's phone's textingcapabilities during school hours such that all texts received while thechild is physically on school property (or during school hours) arestored in a temporary memory inaccessible to the child. When the child'sphone leaves school property after the school day ends, the textmessages are moved from the temporary memory to the child's inbox suchthat they are accessible to the child. The storing of messages in atemporary memory is important because may such messages are transientand cannot be retrieved if they are not delivered. By storing thesemessages in a temporary memory inaccessible to the child, the parentalcontrol settings server preserves the messaging functionality whilelimiting its use to the identified context conditions.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment deferred delivery method 700 forcontrolling a cell phone's messaging capabilities (e.g., SMS, MMS,email, etc.) during times and/or in locations where such activity isprohibited or discouraged. In step 702, an incoming message is receivedat a child's mobile phone. Prior to outputting any alert that themessage was received, the mobile phone processor checks the parentalcontrol restriction conditions to determine if the message should bemade available to the cell phone. For example, in determination step 704the parental control settings server may check the location of the cellphone to determine if it is in a restricted location. If the phone isnot in a restricted location (i.e., determination step 704=“No”), indetermination step 706, the phone may compare the current time to timerestrictions to determine if messages are currently restricted duringthis time. If message is not restricted at the current time (i.e.,determination step 706=“No”), in step 708 the processor may add theincoming message to the inbox and output an alert, notifying the userthat a new message is available.

If either of the location or time restriction conditions are not met(i.e., determination step 704=“Yes” or determination step 706=“Yes”), indetermination step 710 the processor may determine if the message senderis listed in an “allowed sender” list. If the sender is allowed (i.e.,determination step 710=“Yes”), in step 708, the parental controlsettings server may add the incoming message to the inbox and output analert to notify the user that a new message is available. If, however,the sender is not in the allowed list (i.e., determination step710=“No”), in step 712 the incoming message may be added to a “DeferredIn-Box” memory storage with no display or sounding of an alert. Thedeferred inbox may thus queue received messages until the processordetermines that the restricted condition has expired. In determinationstep 714, the processor may periodically check whether the restrictionconditions no longer apply, such as the restricted time has expired orthe phone has moved to an unrestricted location. In an embodiment, thisis determined by the processor comparing the current time and locationto the pre-established restriction criteria similar to determinationsteps 704 and 706. If the restriction conditions are no longer met(i.e., determination step 714=“Yes”), in step 716 the parental controlsettings server may transfer the incoming message from the DeferredIn-Box to the message system (e.g., SMS, MMS, email, etc.) inbox memorystorage (step 708) and flush the “Deferred In-Box” by deleting theincoming message. In step 708, processor may add the extracted messageto the In-Box and notify the user of the message's availability.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, once all the restrictioncriteria are met, the contents of the deferred inbox may be released tothe inbox of the mobile phone and the user may be alerted of the newmessage in the ordinary manner. This deferred delivery method 700 allowschildren to continue to receive text messages even when restricted butrestricts the ability to view and respond to those messages to timesand/or locations that the parent has specified in a parental controlprofile. The method also allows children to receive incoming messagesfrom particular exempt individuals, such the parents, regardless of thetime and location of the cell phone. In all cases, the messages aredelivered to the phone and stored in the phone's memory, but access tothe message is restricted (and notification is deferred) until therestriction conditions are removed (e.g., blackout period ends).

In various embodiments, the parental control settings specified forchildren's cell phones may be communicated to other communication sites.For example, the parental control settings server may be an open-accessgateway to which third party applications (e.g., Facebook®) may bepermitted to access and use the restriction parameters set by parents.In this manner, parental control profiles established by the parent maybe enforced by any web site or application that is registered with theparental control settings server and/or has access to the open gateway.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment method 800 for applying the parentalcontrol settings to third party communication sites. In step 802, theparental control settings server may store parental control parametersfor a child account based on the parent-user's selected configurations.In step 804, the parental control settings server may generate a uniquerandomized identification number for the child that is devoid of anypersonal information and associate the generated number with the child'sparental control settings. In step 806, a third party website orapplication (e.g., Facebook®) may receive a request from a user to logonto the third's party application or website. In step 808, the thirdparty website/application may interface with a parental control gatewayof the parental control settings server and request parental controlrestrictions information on the user. For example, the third partywebsite may send the parental control gateway the username or emailaddress of the user attempting to log onto the system. In determinationstep 810, the parental control settings server may query its databasesto determine if the information provided by the third partywebsite/application matches any of the information maintained for any ofthe parental control settings server users. If there is a match (i.e.,determination step 810=“Yes”), in step 812 the parental control settingsserver may publish a generated identification number associated with theidentified parental control settings server user to the gateway, whichrelays the information to the third party website/application. In step814, the website/application may receive the identification number andlink the number to the user's account. In step 816, thewebsite/application may interface with the gateway to receive parentalcontrol parameters using only the identification number. In this manner,none of the child's identification information is made available to thethird party website and the parental controls established for thechild's phone may be enforced by any application/website, regardless ofwhether or not the child uses a controlled phone to access thesite/application.

In various embodiments, the parental control profiles may permit orrequire intermediate authorization by a parent for certain actions(e.g., adding a new friend on Facebook®). When a child attempts certainspecified activities on the mobile phone (e.g., purchasing applications,in-game purchases, adding a new friend, etc.), the restrictionparameters may require the child's mobile phone (or the server) tocontact the parent with an authorization request. The request may be viaa short message service (SMS) text, email message, or any messagingservice available to the parent's own mobile phone to which the parentmay respond by either authorizing or disallowing the requested activity.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment method 900 for implementing parentalcontrols that require certain actions to be allowed on a controlledphone only upon intermediate authorization. In step 902, the parentalcontrol settings server may set parental controls for a user account byusing one or more of the methods described above. In step 904, theparent may identify to the system the child cell phone features and/orchild-user actions that are to be enabled/allow only upon the parent'sspecific authorization. For example, in step 904, the parental controlsettings server may prompt the parent to select one or more parentalcontrol parameters that identify certain features/actions (or categoriesof features/actions) that are to be allowed only upon parent'sauthorization of each use/action. In an embodiment, the control accesssystem may also prompt the parent-user to select authorized users thatmay authorize such actions. In step 906, the parental control settingsserver may prompt the parent-user to identify the context (e.g., time,location, etc.) in which such actions/uses require parentalauthorization, receive the parent's input and store the received contextin a memory. In step 908, the parental control settings server may pushthe requirements to the child's cell phone. The cell phone processor mayreceive and store those settings, and then monitor the child's phoneusage for identified use/actions requiring intermediate authorization instep 909. In determination step 910, the cell phone processor maydetermine if any of the identified actions/uses is being initiated onthe child's phone. If any of the identified actions/uses is beinginitiated (i.e., determination step 910=“Yes”), in determination step912, the cell phone processor may determine if any of the identifiedcontext-conditions for that action/use is present. If thecontext-conditions are not present (i.e., determination step 910=“No”)the action/use may be allowed in step 922.

If one or more of the context-conditions are present (i.e.,determination step 910=“Yes”), in step 914 the processor may send amessage (e.g., SMS, email, etc.) notifying the parent or designatedauthority of the initiation of actions/uses requiring intermediateauthorization. For example, the processor may send the designatedauthority a SMS text message informing the authority of the action(e.g., “George has requested to add Nick as a facebook friend”). Asanother example, the processor may send a message to the parentalcontrol settings server indicating that it should send such a message toinforming the authority of the action. In the message sent step 916, theprocessor (or the parental control settings server) may requestauthorization for the use/action. The authority may respond to such amessage with an approval or disapproval reply message that is delivered.For example, the message to the designated authority may request a replyauthorization SMS or email message (e.g., “Do you wish to allow Nick tobe added as a facebook friend?”). In determination step 918, theprocessor may wait for the authority to respond to the messages todetermine if the use/action is authorized. If the processor receives amessage indicating that the authority denies the action/use (e.g., theauthority responds “No”) or if no response is received within apredetermined amount of time (i.e., determination step 918=“No”), theprocessor denies the action/use in step 920. If the processor receives areply message indicating that the authority authorizes the action/usewithin the allocated time (i.e., determination step 918=“Yes”), theprocessor may allow the action/user in step 922.

In various embodiments, the cell phone processor may be configured tolimit voice calls under some parental control configurations by blockingincoming/outbound calls to everyone except to and from specificallyidentified individuals/entities and/or by blocking calls during specificdate/time periods except to/from the specifically identifiedindividuals/entities (parent, police, etc.).

In various embodiments, the parental control profiles may be configuredto limit outgoing text messages by: blocking the sending of SMS texts tounknown/unapproved numbers; blocking the sending of SMS texts duringdate/time periods except to specifically identifiedindividuals/entities; auto-forwarding outgoing messages toparent/authorized user; and/or requiring parental authorization to sendmessages to new recipients.

In various embodiments, the parental control profiles may be configuredto limit data calls by blocking data call activity during specifieddate/time periods.

In an embodiment, the parental control profiles may be configured toinclude any combination of the above-mentioned limitations, restrictionsand/or access features.

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may limit content available on a controlled phone by: requiringparental authentication to grant access to web sites; enforce web siteratings; filtering content based on ratings (MPAA, etc.); and/orfiltering advertisements based on categorization and rating.

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may control a cell phone camera by: restricting access to acell phone camera and/or each individual camera feature (e.g., sending,receiving, storing, etc.); restricting the locations in memory wherepictures may stored; restricting access during date/time periods; and/orrestricting the camera in certain locations.

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may restrict access to BlueTooth, WLANs, connected devicesand/or supported profiles.

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may restrict data connections (e.g., TCP/IP), restrictconnections to specific sites, restrict connection types (e.g., HTTP,HTTPS, email, etc.) and/or restrict connections by date/time periods.

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may restrict access to a media player during designated timeperiods and/or in identified locations.

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may restrict access to voice over interne protocol (VOIP) orother interne voice communication technologies (e.g., QChat).

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may: disable multimedia messaging service (MMS) and/or emailfunctionality; limit outgoing emails/MMS; block the sending ofemails/MMS to unknown/unapproved numbers; block the sending ofemails/MMS during certain date/time periods except to those specificallypermitted; auto-forward outgoing emails/MMS to parent/authorized user;and/or require parental authorization to send emails/MMS to newrecipients.

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may impose restrictions on sending/receiving pictures andfrom/to identified individuals and/or may restrict sending/receivingpictures to everyone except identified individuals.

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may require the receipt of parental authentication beforesending messages to new a MMS recipient.

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may auto-forward incoming/outgoing MMS messages to parents.

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may limit application (games, etc.) usage by restrictingapplication use to designated time periods.

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may limit application downloads by enforce ratings, limitingdownloads to certain dates/time periods and/or requiring parentalauthentication prior to downloading the applications.

In various embodiments, the cell phone process implementing parentalcontrols may control a cell phone's global positioning satellite (GPS)features by disabling the GPS, limiting application that use the GPSand/or restricting the times/locations in which the GPS feature may beused.

In an embodiment, the cell phone process implementing parental controlsmay implement any combination of the above-mentioned limitations,restrictions and/or access features.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned limitations, restrictionsand/or access features are provided only as examples, and the claimsshould not be limited to the above mentioned limitations, restrictionsand/or access features unless they are expressly recited in the claims.

As mentioned above, in an embodiment, the parental control server may befurther configured to transmit or otherwise implement the parentalcontrol settings established for cell phones and mobile computingdevices on any other network-accessible media access or computing devicedesignated by parents. In this manner, parents can use the parentalcontrol server user interface (or web portal) as a single site forimplementing comprehensive parental controls that are implementedconsistently among all devices identified by the parent. Examples ofother types of media-access and computing devices which may receive suchparental control settings from the parental control server include,without limitation, televisions, personal computers, gaming systems,audio and video player systems, and similar devices that will bedeveloped in the future.

In this embodiment, the parent may identify the other devices thatshould implement the parental control settings as part of setting up theuser account and identifying each child's cell phone. This additionalinformation may be provided as part of the operations performed in anyof steps 206, 504, 602, 622 and/or 902 described above. This may involvethe parent identifying the URL, network address or network controllerthat the parental control server can use or contact to push out parentalcontrol settings. So configured, the parental control server may alsosend the appropriate parental control settings or feature restrictionsto the other identified devices as part of the operations performed inany of steps 218, 612, 656, 660 and/or 908 described above. For deviceswhich include processors configured to implement parental controls, suchoperations may involve transmitting the corresponding settings datausing a suitable messaging protocol over whatever network by which theserver can access the device. For devices which are not equipped withprocessors configured to implement parental controls, such operationsmay involve communicating with other devices (e.g., a local networkrouter or set top box) or network controllers (e.g., a cable orsatellite network operator) which can implement at least some or similarrestrictions.

FIG. 10 is a system block diagram of a cell-phone suitable for use withany of the embodiments. A cell phone 1000 may include a processor 1001coupled to internal memory 1002, a display 1003, and to a speaker 1054.Additionally, the cell phone 1000 may include an antenna 1004 forsending and receiving electromagnetic radiation that may be connected toa wireless data link and/or cell telephone transceiver 1005 coupled tothe processor 1001. Cell phones 1000 typically also include menuselection buttons or rocker switches 1008 for receiving user inputs.

The various embodiments may be implemented on any of a variety ofcommercially available server devices, such as the server 1100illustrated in FIG. 11. Such a server 1100 typically includes aprocessor 1101 coupled to volatile memory 1102 and a large capacitynonvolatile memory, such as a disk drive 1103. The server 1100 may alsoinclude a floppy disc drive, compact disc (CD) or DVD disc drive 1106coupled to the processor 1101. The server 1100 may also include networkaccess ports 1104 coupled to the processor 1101 for establishing dataconnections with a network 1105, such as a local area network coupled toother broadcast system computers and servers.

The processors 1001, 1101 may be any programmable microprocessor,microcomputer or multiple processor chip or chips that can be configuredby software instructions (applications) to perform a variety offunctions, including the functions of the various embodiments describedbelow. In some mobile receiver devices, multiple processors 1101 may beprovided, such as one processor dedicated to wireless communicationfunctions and one processor dedicated to running other applications.Typically, software applications may be stored in the internal memory1002, 1102, 1103 before they are accessed and loaded into the processor1001, 1101. The processor 1001, 1101 may include internal memorysufficient to store the application software instructions.

The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams areprovided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to requireor imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed inthe order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the artthe order of steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in anyorder. Words such as “thereafter,” “then,” “next,” etc. are not intendedto limit the order of the steps; these words are simply used to guidethe reader through the description of the methods. Further, anyreference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using thearticles “a,” “an” or “the” is not to be construed as limiting theelement to the singular.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosedherein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, orcombinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability ofhardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules,circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms oftheir functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented ashardware or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans mayimplement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular application, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentinvention.

The hardware used to implement the various illustrative logics, logicalblocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspectsdisclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purposeprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) orother programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed toperform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor maybe a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may be anyconventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Aprocessor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices,e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration. Alternatively, some steps ormethods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a givenfunction.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. The steps of a method or algorithm disclosedherein may be embodied in a processor-executable software module whichmay reside on a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium. Tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage media may beany available media that may be accessed by a computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable mediamay comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othermedium that may be used to store desired program code in the form ofinstructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a computer.Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and blu-raydisc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discsreproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above shouldalso be included within the scope of non-transitory computer-readablemedia. Additionally, the operations of a method or algorithm may resideas one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on atangible, non-transitory machine readable medium and/orcomputer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computerprogram product.

The preceding description of the disclosed embodiments is provided toenable any person skilled in the art to make or use the presentinvention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the following claims and theprinciples and novel features disclosed herein.

1. A method for restricting delivery of incoming messages at a mobiledevice, comprising: receiving an incoming message on the mobile device;determining whether one or more restriction conditions match at leastone restriction criteria specified in a parental control profile;storing the received message in memory and not passing it to a messageapplication inbox when it is determined that at least one restrictioncondition matches at least one restriction criteria; checking therestriction condition to determine if at least one restriction conditionstill matches the at least one restriction criteria specified in anaccess control profile; and passing stored received messages to themessage application inbox when the restriction conditions no longermatch any of the restriction criteria.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: passing the received incoming message to an inbox of themobile device when the restriction criteria of the parental controlprofile is no longer satisfied.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising determining whether a sender of the received message is anexempted sender specified in the parental control profile, whereinstoring the received message in memory and not passing it to a messageapplication inbox comprises storing the received message in memory andnot passing it to a message application inbox when it is determined thatboth the sender of the message is not an exempted sender and that atleast one restriction condition matches at least one restrictioncriteria.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one restrictioncondition includes a time period.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theat least one restriction condition includes a current location of themobile device.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the restrictionconditions include both a time and a current location of the mobiledevice.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the restriction conditions areset on an external server using a remote computer, the method furthercomprising: sending the restriction conditions to the mobile devicethrough a wireless communication network; and storing the restrictionconditions in a deeply embedded parental control module implemented inan operating system of the mobile device.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the mobile device is a mobile phone.
 9. The method of claim 7,wherein the wireless communication network is a cellular telephonenetwork.
 10. A system for restricting delivery of incoming messages to amobile device, comprising: a parental control server; a wirelesscommunication network; and a mobile device interconnected to theparental control server through the cellular telephone network, whereinthe parental control server is configured to send restriction conditionsto the mobile device; and wherein the mobile device comprises: adisplay; an internal memory; and a processor coupled to the display andthe internal memory, wherein the processor is configured withprocessor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising:receiving an incoming message on the mobile device; determining whetherone or more restriction conditions match at least one restrictioncriteria specified in a parental control profile; storing the receivedmessage in memory and not passing it to a message application inbox whenit is determined that at least one restriction condition matches atleast one restriction criteria; checking the restriction condition todetermine if at least one restriction condition still matches the atleast one restriction criteria specified in an access control profile;and passing stored received messages to the message application inboxwhen the restriction conditions no longer match any of the restrictioncriteria,
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the mobile device is amobile phone.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the wirelesscommunication network is a cellular telephone network.
 13. A system forrestricting delivery of incoming messages to a mobile device,comprising: means for send restriction conditions to mobile devices; anda mobile device comprising: means for receiving an incoming message on amobile device; means for determining whether one or more restrictionconditions match at least means for one restriction criteria specifiedin a parental control profile; means for storing the received message inmemory and not passing it to a message application inbox when it isdetermined that at least one restriction condition matches at least onerestriction criteria; means for checking the restriction condition todetermine if at least one restriction condition still matches the atleast one restriction criteria specified in an access control profile;and means for passing stored received messages to the messageapplication inbox when the restriction conditions no longer match any ofthe restriction criteria.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the mobiledevice is a mobile phone.
 15. A mobile device, comprising: a wirelesscommunication transceiver; a display; an internal memory; and aprocessor coupled to the wireless communication transceiver; the displayand the internal memory, wherein the processor is configured withprocessor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising:receiving a parental control profile comprising one or more restrictioncriteria; storing the received parental control profile in the internalmemory; receiving an incoming message via the wireless communicationtransceiver; determining whether one or more restriction conditionsmatch at least one restriction criteria stored in the internal memory;storing the received message in the internal memory and not passing itto a message application inbox when it is determined that at least onerestriction condition matches at least one restriction criteria;checking the restriction condition to determine if at least onerestriction condition still matches the at least one restrictioncriteria specified in an access control profile; and passing storedreceived messages to the message application inbox when the restrictionconditions no longer match any of the restriction criteria.
 16. Themobile device of claim 15, wherein the processor is configured withprocessor-executable instructions to perform operations furthercomprising: passing the received incoming message to an inbox of themobile device when the restriction criteria of the parental controlprofile is no longer satisfied.
 17. The mobile device of claim 15,wherein the processor is configured with processor-executableinstructions to perform operations further comprising: determiningwhether a sender of the received message is an exempted sender specifiedin the parental control profile, wherein storing the received message inmemory and not passing it to a message application inbox comprisesstoring the received message in memory and not passing it to a messageapplication inbox when it is determined that both the sender of themessage is not an exempted sender and that at least one restrictioncondition matches at least one restriction criteria.
 18. The mobiledevice of claim 15, wherein the at least one restriction conditionincludes a time period.
 19. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein theat least one restriction condition includes a current location of themobile device.
 20. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein therestriction conditions include both a time and a current location of themobile device.
 21. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the processoris configured with processor-executable instructions to performoperations further comprising: storing the restriction conditions in adeeply embedded parental control module implemented in an operatingsystem of the mobile device.
 22. The mobile device of claim 15, whereinthe mobile device is a mobile phone.
 23. The mobile device of claim 15,wherein the wireless communication transceiver is a cellular telephonenetwork transceiver.
 24. A non-transitory processor-readable storagemedium having stored thereon processor executable instructionsconfigured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operationscomprising: receiving a parental control profile comprising one or morerestriction criteria; storing the received parental control profile inthe internal memory; receiving an incoming message on the mobile devicevia a wireless communication network; determining whether one or morerestriction conditions match at least one restriction criteria specifiedin a parental control profile; storing the received message in memoryand not passing it to a message application inbox when it is determinedthat at least one restriction condition matches at least one restrictioncriteria; checking the restriction condition to determine if at leastone restriction condition still matches the at least one restrictioncriteria specified in an access control profile; and passing storedreceived messages to the message application inbox when the restrictionconditions no longer match any of the restriction criteria.
 25. Thenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 24, whereinthe stored processor executable instructions are configured to cause aprocessor of a mobile device to perform operations further comprising:passing the received incoming message to an inbox of the mobile devicewhen the restriction criteria of the parental control profile is nolonger satisfied.
 26. The non-transitory processor-readable storagemedium of claim 24, wherein the stored processor executable instructionsare configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to performoperations further comprising: determining whether a sender of thereceived message is an exempted sender specified in the parental controlprofile, wherein storing the received message in memory and not passingit to a message application inbox comprises storing the received messagein memory and not passing it to a message application inbox when it isdetermined that both the sender of the message is not an exempted senderand that at least one restriction condition matches at least onerestriction criteria.
 27. The non-transitory processor-readable storagemedium of claim 24, wherein the stored processor executable instructionsare configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to performoperations such that the at least one restriction condition includes atime period.
 28. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium ofclaim 24, wherein the stored processor executable instructions areconfigured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operationssuch that the at least one restriction condition includes a currentlocation of the mobile device.
 29. The non-transitory processor-readablestorage medium of claim 24, wherein the stored processor executableinstructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device toperform operations such that the restriction conditions include both atime and a current location of the mobile device.
 30. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein the storedprocessor executable instructions are configured to cause a processor ofa mobile device to perform operations further comprising: storing therestriction conditions in a deeply embedded parental control moduleimplemented in an operating system of the mobile device.
 31. Thenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 24, whereinthe stored processor executable instructions are configured to beexecuted by a processor of a mobile phone.
 32. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein the storedprocessor executable instructions are configured to cause a processor ofa mobile device to perform operations such that receiving an incomingmessage on the mobile device via a wireless communication networkcomprises receiving an incoming message on the mobile device via acellular telephone network.